Until Then….

Early mornings are the best. Those dawn hours when the sun has broken over the horizon but the world is still sleeping; the hours of slow wake-up, sounds of birds breaking the silence of night.

It is early morning and right now it is easy for me to believe that someday this will all be redeemed.

I remind myself of this when I feel particularly burdened by our world. It is the lifeline of my faith, and I believe it in the marrow of my bones.

My job is to walk in the words of the prophet Micah and do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with my God.

There will be a day when the Kingdom of Heaven will come, and on that day I know this – all of this will dissolve into nothing in the light of the Glory of God Himself.

Until then may God heal my eyesight. May he heal our collective eyesight.

May we see the world through the Creator’s eyes of love and grace.

Until then…,

7 thoughts on “Until Then….”

Hi Marilyn, My name is Ko Dong. I have enjoyed your blogs for years. Recently it occurred to me that my sisters would benefit from your blogs if I translate into Chinese for them. But of course, I need your permission to do that. If you agree, here is the first one I translated(August 15). It is only intended for my three sisters, not to be publicized. Please let me know. Understood and will not send if you don’t agree.

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Until Then…. by Marilyn

Early mornings are the best. Those dawn hours when the sun has broken over the horizon but the world is still sleeping; the hours of slow wake-up, sounds of birds breaking the silence of night. 清晨是最好的時刻．曙光剛破䁱，但大地仍在睡眠；慢慢來清醒時，鳥聲打破了黑夜的沈默。

It is early morning and right now it is easy for me to believe that someday this will all be redeemed. 現是清早．這時我能輕易地相信有一天一切都會得救贖．

I remind myself of this when I feel particularly burdened by our world. It is the lifeline of my faith, and I believe it in the marrow of my bones. 當感到這世界的重擔時，我用這一點來提醒自己．這是我信心的生命線．我深信入骨．

So if one day this will all be redeemed, how am I supposed to live? It would be easy to dismiss this as God’s problem, not mine; to decide that I needn’t go out of my way to do anything special. But the privilege of partnering with a redeemer in “Thy Kingdom Come” is compelling. 那如果有一天這一切都會得救贖，我要怎麼活呢？把這個問題推到上帝是比較簡單．我不用特別花費心思．但和一位＂祢的國臨到＂的救贖者同心共行的特恩實在無法拒絕

I learn daily more of what it means to participate in kingdom building. I learn that my job is not to ridicule, to withold grace, to tell people to stop having thin skin, to condemn, to gloat, to despair, to withdraw, to be disgusted. My job, my mandate is to build bridges and seek the kingdom. My job is to love God and my neighbor, to seek the welfare of the places I live, to fight for human flourishing. 我每天都學到參與建立天國的意義．我知道我的本份不是去嘲笑別人，扣制恩典，告訴别人不要神經過敏，幸災樂禍，絶望，畏縮，或厭惡人．我的職位是去愛神和鄰居，為我住的地方尋求福利，為人類生命的茂盛來奮鬥．

My job is to walk in the words of the prophet Micah and do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with my God. 我的職位是照那先知彌加的話（6:8）”行公義，好憐憫，存謙卑的心，與你的神同行”.

There will be a day when the Kingdom of Heaven will come, and on that day I know this – all of this will dissolve into nothing in the light of the Glory of God Himself. 有一天天國會降臨．那時我知道在神的榮光裏所有一切都不關緊要了．

Until then may God heal my eyesight. May he heal our collective eyesight. 在那天來之前，願神治癒我的視線．願神治癒我們所有的視線．

Until then, nations will come and go. Party affiliations will change. Politics will swing from right to left and back again. This is not the Kingdom of God. Every system on earth was designed by imperfect people who were all about life on earth and not about treasure in Heaven. 直到那時，國際有興有落，關係變化無常．政派左右搖晃．這不是天國．這世上一切制度都是為不美好的人類設的．而人只想到這世間的生命，沒看到天上的寶藏．

Until then, may he show us his beloved ones of every tribe and every nation. May we not dismiss stories or perspectives. May we be ones who listen and learn, who are willing to admit we are wrong. May we not justify our wrongs or rationalize our sins. May we be people who see beyond the crisis of the day and beyond our own inadequacies. May we comfort the hurting, give grace to the angry, hear the other side, build bridges of peace, and always fight for the persecuted. 直到那時，願祂顯示衪所愛的人，每一個種族，每一個國家．願我們沒有忘掉祂的事蹟，祂的希望．願我們聆聽，學習，能承認我們的錯．願我們不辯護我們的錯，或為我們的罪找藉口．願我們安慰受傷的，恩賜給忿怒的，聆聽對方的立場，建立和諧，為受壓迫的人奮鬥．

May we see the world through the Creator’s eyes of love and grace. 願我們從創世者愛和恩典的眼光來到看世界．

Sent from my iPhone

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Marilyn says:

August 20, 2017 at 1:33 pm

Hello Ku Dong, I am so thankful you have been reading and find my words helpful. Your words were a gift to me. Thank you. I would be honored if you translated them for your sisters! By the way, where do you live? In grace, Marilyn

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